San Francisco is one city with a mixed past. Some residents remember beautiful, safe streets. In contrast, others can’t seem to shake off the memories of streets full of homeless people and drugs. However, there was a massive cleanup in San Francisco quite recently to make the city spotless. This was in anticipation of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit.
Unfortunately, San Francisco seems to have reverted to grime crime and an alarming homeless population back on the streets. This is just a few weeks following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit. The sight shocked Jeremy Bernier, a new resident in San Francisco. “This is a disgrace. I’ve been to 50-plus countries and traveled the world. I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said, expressing his surprise.
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“It’s just ground zero of the fentanyl crisis. You’ve got people literally smoking fentanyl, taking these drugs out on the streets. You’ve got the tents and camps while you’ve got a playground with children playing right nearby, which is blocks away from the mayor’s office. It’s just unbelievable to me that a city and country with such immense wealth can have such blatant poverty and suffering,” Jeremy added while speaking to the press.
Jeremy Bernier is a software engineer. He had just moved to San Francisco and had taken several photos of what he saw on the streets. Bernier said that the reality was even worse than the pictures. “I’ve seen poverty before, but this is like an open air trap house,” he said.
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Brenier’s opinion and comments aren’t isolated. There have been tons of complaints over the years about drug use, crime, filth, and homelessness around the city. This negative trend has forced several businesses to shut down.
Bernier had arrived in San Francisco a week before Jinping visited the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). He met a clean city. However, as the state of the city slowly deteriorated, Bernier couldn’t believe his eyes.
Other business owners in San Francisco have also complained about the cleanliness of the streets. Tony Pankaew, a restaurant owner, complained about how the cleanup was rushed for Jinping’s visit. Now, the city is losing its shine again.
When Bernier first moved to San Francisco, he expected the worst because of all he had seen on social media. However, the reality was a pleasant surprise. He admitted there were some bad areas but also good ones. However, when he returned to the city from a trip, things became worse.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has faced criticism for the cleanup efforts. However, he accepted that it was initiated because the Chinese leader was visiting. “It’s also true for months and months and months before APEC, we’ve been having different conversations and we’ve raised the bar of expectation between the city, the county, and the state and our federal partners,” he said.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) reacted to the governor’s statement on X, saying, “Why will they [Democrats] clean up for China but not Californians?” However, Bernier said the issue must be taken seriously, and everyone must work together to solve it before it worsens.
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